AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE MENACE OF KIDNAPPING IN NIGERIA AND THE REPORT EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PRESS (A CASE STUDY OF THE PUNCH AND GUARDIAN NEWSPAPERS)

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

The growth rate of kidnapping in Nigeria has eaten deep into the socio economic development of Nigeria. A malady previously unknown to the people has rapidly become domesticated. In the last ten years, the volatile oil rich regions of the Niger Delta witnessed this phenomenon on a large scale with the target being mostly expatriates and Nigerians in the oil business. It has spread throughout the country extending to places as far as Kano and Kaduna in the far Northern part of Nigeria. South-East and South-South Nigeria have become known as the kidnappers’ playgrounds of Nigeria. Kidnapping seems easier compared to other forms of serious crimes. According to Davidson (2010), a group of criminals armed with guns and cell phones apprehend unsuspecting victims and drag their victim into a secluded spot and begin to make phone calls to whomever and demand for a ransom. The police with a mandate to provide security for the people are often unprepared for the task at hand. They think their job is done if they manage to secure the kidnapped, but of the kidnappers nothing much is ever heard. As we all know, the police are poorly trained and poorly equipped, but beyond these inadequacies there are worrying signs that their loyalty is suspected. Some whistle blowers have come to grief for confiding in them. The primary role of government is the provision of security for its own people. In Nigeria this role has been largely ignored. The Nigerian state no longer provides security for the Nigerian people. Nigerians have compulsorily become religious as whole families barricade themselves at night in prison-high walls and pray that God protection. But kidnapping as a variant of armed robbery is infinitely more disturbing as it often occurs in the open among persons going about their normal business. The widening scale of insecurity in Nigeria is a cause for concern as all are affected by it. Churches, mosques, markets, schools, homes and the highway, all are susceptible to this menace. The abductees and their families are traumatised by the ordeal of kidnapping. Foreign investors are scared away from Nigeria. Nigerians are paying the price of poor governance and failures of leadership. Davidson (2010) points out that the general state of insecurity in some parts of the country has no doubt reached a stage where virtually everybody is now worried the direction the region is going. Presently, hardly can people sleep because of the fear of being robbed or kidnapped. Businessmen have taken flight with their businesses for fear of being kidnapped or robbed.

In a spate of three years, kidnapping and hostage taking have spread from the Niger Delta creeks to the mainland. The monster has spread and taken deep root in the South-East where thousands of able bodied but unemployed youths abound. The current security challenge in the country is better understood against existing evidence that even government officials and traditional rulers are not spared. Kidnappings are targeted at the executive, legislative, and the judicial branch of the government, and also their family members in spite of the tight security at their disposal. This has led to some of these officials relocating their families outside the geopolitical zone or outside the country, thereby leaving the civilian population at the mercy of the marauding gangs. The study wishes to evaluate the effectiveness of the press in the coverage of the menace of kidnapping in Nigeria using the punch and the guardian newspapers as the case study.

1.2    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Security of lives and property is one of the issues that attracts the attention of both the masses and government of a given society indeed, any breach of security whether in the form of kidnapping, abduction, bomb explosion and so on, which could result in physical injury against a victim, destruction of properties or loss of human lives is usually least appreciated by most peace loving individuals, groups and governments alike. Yet, it appears that a breach of security in Nigeria particularly kidnapping, is becoming more rampant than ever before in recent years. 
One would reason that the mass media which has a social responsibility to provide the public with adequate information about certain incidents in the society, could have paid greater attention to issues bordering on kidnapping and inform the public accordingly. 
While the broadcast media may not have assigned more air-time to such issues because of too many other programmes, it is assumed that magazine reports on those issues may not have been adequately given the periodic nature of magazine. 
It therefore becomes pertinent to ask the basic question: to what extend did Nigerian newspapers report kidnapping in the country between 2011 and 2012?

1.3    OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This study had the following objectives: 
1.      To determine the frequency with which kidnapping is covered in the selected Nigerian newspapers.
2.      To determine the prominence given to the reporting of kidnapping in the selected Nigerian Newspapers.
3.      To determine the depth of coverage given to kidnapping in the selected Nigerian Newspapers.
4.      To determine the direction of reportage of kidnapping stories in Nigerian Newspapers, the Punch and the Guardian.

1.4    RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study intends to find answers to the following research questions: 
1.      What is the covered in the selected Nigerian Newspapers?
2.      What is the prominence given to the reporting of kidnapping in the selected Nigerian Newspapers?
3.      What is the depth of coverage given to kidnapping in the selected Nigerian Newspapers? 
4.      What is the direction of reportage of kidnapping stories in Nigerian newspapers, The Punch and the Guardian?

1.5 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0: the use of newspapers in the coverage of kidnapping in Nigeria is not effective

H1: the use of newspapers in the coverage of kidnapping in Nigeria is effective

1.6    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Journalists are saddled with the responsibility of reporting the activities of people to their audience. Pressmen, as the purveyor of information, endeavours to report events accurately as they unfold. By so doing, members of the audience (readers) are made to know about the happenings in the society (Uwah, 2006, P. 9).
Having said that, this work will provide useful information to government and security agencies in all the three tiers of government in Nigeria in evaluating the security situation in the country during the year and so as to know what security measures to adopt in future. 
The work will also serve as information material to the Federal ministry of information in obtaining adequate data on the state of kidnapping in Nigeria, so as to better inform the public as the case may be.
Still, this study will reveal how the two Nigerian Newspapers- the Punch and the Guardian fared in their reportage of kidnapping, if compared to other mass media. 
Finally, this work serves as reference material to libraries, researchers and the general public.

1.7 SCOPE OF STUDY

The study on an investigation into the menace of kidnapping in Nigeria and the report effectiveness of the press is limited to roles of the punch and the guardian newspapers

1.8 DELIMITATIONS OF STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS

KIDNAPPING: an act of abducting someone and holding them captive

MENACE: a person or thing that is likely to cause harm; a threat or danger